Green Roofs

"A wildflower meadow atop a roof in Islington. This picture was inspired by a National Geographic article. I love the idea of having a green roof - a little piece of the English countryside in central London, hidden from the city streets below."

The green roof installation RIBA Flash event on the 4th May was attended by 10 enthusiasts at the Mayville Community Centre all eager to learn from the leading green roof expert, Dusty Gedge. Dusty is the designer of the green roofs at Mayville where two areas of green roof have being installed. The group heard from Rachel Witherick of bere:architects about how the green roof is an integral component of the low energy environmental building ethos and proposals at the Mayville. Improving the ecology of this inner city site is of critical importance for both the architects and the client.

Sustain magazine published the following 4 page article in July 2009. This piece summarises my experiences so far and explains how the common house sparrow in particular, and the wren have benefitted at the beginning of the breeding season to what is on offer.

How Justin Bere’s rooftop native wildflower meadow provides important support for the local house sparrow population as well as evidence of the role of native planting in the support of a healthy ecosystem.